


no need for riches when i have you

by heyvelrisa



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Dancing, F/F, Festivals, Fluff, Royalty, Sneaking Out, Winter Festival, general fun to be had!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:14:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27554443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyvelrisa/pseuds/heyvelrisa
Summary: Clementine has never missed a Solstice Festival before, and she certainly isn’t going to stop now. There’s something exhilarating about stepping into the lives of the commoners, even if just for a night.
Relationships: Clementine Cordelia/Alexandra Gold
Kudos: 3





	no need for riches when i have you

**Author's Note:**

> i’m a slut for festival dances
> 
> alexandra belongs to AddySnow!!

Clementine had been to many festivals in her life. It was tradition for her family to go to at least one a year out of the two their local village , Alibrand, held annually. There was always one held on the summer solstice and the winter solstice, to celebrate the glory of the days they had lived in the summer and the turning of a new year in the winter. Alibrand was notorious for truly outdoing themselves in their festivities— the local food, the community enthusiasm, the good alcohol were few of the countless things that free the royal family to such festivities. 

Today was the day of the winter solstice. Normally, the family would attend the summer festival, but that was when Clementine’s father had fallen ill. The family had refrained from joining the festivities, promising that they would present themselves at the winter solstice when he was feeling better. 

He was not feeling better. 

Clem wouldn’t go as far as to say that he was on his death bed. Not yet, anyway. But his condition had been steadily worsening since the summer began, and he was mostly bedridden at this point. Clementine, her mother, Isaac, and Alexandra had begun to pick up many of his royal duties in preparation for the inevitable fate that awaited him. His doctors had given him about six months more to live, at best. He was stable, but with the direction his health was going, he would only be stable for so long. 

Clem took a deep breath and studied her own reflection in the mirror. She’d had a few instances where she had been unable to really recognize herself in the mirror, but it was more metaphorical than physical. How many times had she stared into her own reflection and heard the whispers of her own lies in her ears? The love she had for Alexandra, the things they did behind everyone’s backs, the exhaustion that came with trying so hard to become queen. Now, most of that was behind her. While she was finding new insecurities almost every day, they came and went with an ease that kept an even enough balance that Clementine still felt as though she were growing as a person. It definitely helped that she and Alexandra were engaged. That provided a new type of love and determination that she had never felt before. 

Still, sometimes when she was studying her own reflection, she looked back on her younger self and remembered what it was like to question who she really was. 

Now, standing here in a peasant’s gown and a thick winter cloak, she felt some sort of relief that the alienation wasn’t all in her head this time. 

Clementine knew it was irresponsible to sneak out of the palace. Weeks ago, her mother had tiredly informed her that they would not be attending the winter festival because their father would be unable to join them. It had shattered Clem’s heart. This was the first year for as long as she could remember that they wouldn’t be able to participate in the festivities. 

She had rotated the idea of sneaking out in her mind long and hard. There were a few risks, mostly dealing with her identity— none of her clothes were fit for a commoner to wear, so blending in wasn’t much of an option, which would put her in danger. Her parents would certainly kill her if they found out. But the outfit problem was solved fairly quickly; Isaac had a “friend", a farmer’s son, who had a sister with a dress or two to spare. Isaac had been kind enough to deliver the dress, boots, and a downy winter cloak to her about three days after she’d complained about the issue to him. He’d gifted her an extra set as well— “Just in case you have a plus one in mind,” he’d said with a cheeky smile— and she had been debating for the past week whether or not she should go. 

The sound of a knock on the bathroom door made Clementine jump in her skin. “Princess?” Alexandra’s voice filtered through the door, soft and warm, and even after all this time, the sound still made Clem’s knees go weak. “You’ve been in there for quite a while. Is everything okay?”

“I’m alright, love.” Clem had been examining herself in the mirror for far too long. The look of the beige fabric and the dark cloak concealing most of her face was so different from what she was used to. Plus, the guilt she had been battling had kept her in here for quite a while. “Just thinking.”

“May I come in, then?” There was a teasing kilt to her voice, and Clementine rolled her eyes and opened the door for Alex. 

Her fiancé had a sly smile on her face when the door opened, but it dropped into something between shock and confusion when she settled on Clem’s outfit. She dropped the hood of her cloak self-consciously. “What’s all this?”

With a rush of adrenaline, Clem tugged Alex into the bathroom that connected to their shared bedroom and shut the door behind them. “I’m going to the Winter’s Festival tonight.” 

Alex blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

“What do you think of the clothes?” She stepped back a little, gave Alex a moment to examine the dress— which was a little loose on her— and the heavy cloak and the boots. “Look.” Clem threw the hood back over her head. “You can’t even recognize me.”

“Well, I can.” Alex smiled a little, reaching out to gently push the hood back down. “I like you much better this way.” Clem’s heart fluttered. “I didn’t know you’d gotten permission from your parents to go to the festival. What’s with the clothes?”

Clem knew she was good at hiding her emotions, but Alex knew the guilt written on her face too well. “You didn’t tell them?”

“They would just say no,” Clem whined. “I know it’s selfish of me, but I haven’t done anything for myself in months. I know it’s unsafe to go publicly by myself, but it would at least be nice for the Alibrandians to feel some member of the royal family there in spirit.” 

“You can’t go by yourself,” Alex said incredulously. “Even with those clothes. One pull of the hood and you’ve exposed yourself to everyone.”

“Well.” Clem mustered her best pleading eyes and looked up at Alex. “I do have an extra set of clothes.”

It took her a moment to process it, but Clem tried not to wince at the look of dread Alex gave her as soon as she did. “Clem.”

“Come on, now! Are you really going to stay at home while the village rages on without us?” 

“Well, that’s what I was planning on doing, yes!”

“But I need someone strong to protect me.” Clem draped herself dramatically across Alex’s arms, taking special note of the way their bodies fit together perfectly. “Anyone else just wouldn’t do.” She lifted her head to look at Alex. “Although, if you refuse to come, I will bring Rori with me.” Rori had taken over as Clem’s full-time personal guard since she and Alexandra had become engaged. 

Alex laughed. “Rori would never keep a secret like that.”

“But you would.” Clem straightened herself, but kept her back pressed against Alex’s body, letting her wrap her arms around the princess. Clem looked up to make eye contact with her in the mirror. 

“Would I?”

“You would. I would see to it.”

Alex’s gaze darted away from Clem’s, her face flushing a little, and Clem smiled smugly. 

“Well, even if I did come with you, how would you expect us to get out without anyone knowing? The guards would be on our tails, don’t you think?”

“Isaac will be helping us out.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “Of course he will.”

“Everything will be fine.” Clem turned in her lover’s arms, reaching up to gently cup her face. “And even if it isn’t, what’s really the worst that could happen?”

Alex groaned a little. “Don’t ask that question.”

“Exactly.” Clem’s voice softened a little. “Please? I need a distraction, and I’d love it if you came with me. Honestly.”

Alex sighed. “Oh, fine. You’re lucky I love you.”

Clem grinned and gave her a quick kiss. “That I am.” She tugged Alex back out of the bathroom, toward the closet where her extra set of clothes was tucked away safely. 

It was just past noon. Time was wasting away, after all. 

•••

Sneaking out of the palace together in the clothes they were wearing hadn’t exactly been an easy feat, and Clem didn’t even want to think about the idea of getting back in, but that was a problem for later. Now, she was giggling quietly as she made her way down the path toward Alibrand alongside Alex. In all of her years of life, she’d never done anything quite this rebellious, and she was twenty-six now. 

She and Alex had pulled their hoods over their heads long before— even if the clothes didn’t disguise them as well as they did, they kept most of the harsh winter chill from reaching their bones. 

It didn’t take long for them to reach Alibrand. Even at the outskirts of the village, there was an electric energy in the air that made Clem’s brain buzz. The closer they got to the center of town, the more welcoming it became. Clementine reached down and took Alexandra’s hand, picking up the pace a little as they approached the town square. 

Clementine had never been to an Alibrand festival as, well, a commoner. She had always been accompanied by her family, dressed in fancy garb and swarmed with people and surrounded by guards who kept anyone from getting too close. She couldn’t believe that she had been deprived of the full experience for so long. There was something about being so unnoticed, blending in with the crowd and being bumped into and ignored, that made her skin buzz happily. She had never been so close to it all before. She could tell by the skip in Alex’s step that she was feeling a similar way. 

They spent a while just standing around in the sidelines, watching everyone have fun as the sun slowly climbed down out of the sky. Groups of men laughed and drank together. Husbands and wives huddled together for warmth as they walked about the square. Young lovers danced to the upbeat music that was being played from some corner of the square. Children chased each other around, screaming with laughter as they weaved through the legs of their grown peers. Food merchants chatted with each other from across their tents in between customers. It all seemed so bright, so impossibly exhilarating, so different from the mundane life that Clem had lived for most of her life. She felt as though she’d taken everything for granted. What was it like to live so carelessly like this?

It also made her heart swell with joy, to see so many of her own subjects, the people that she ruled over, and know that they felt safe and happy enough to throw such a festival. It was clear that everyone knew everyone here— this was relatively unsurprising to her, considering how small the village was, but it still baffled her every time. How interesting it must have been to know your neighbors so well that conversation came so easily. 

Clem looked over at Alex to find her eyes already trained on her. She felt herself blush, and not from the cold. She took Alex’s hands in hers and smiled widely. “See? Aren’t you glad we came?”

Alex’s face broke out into a grin as well. “Yes, but I worry that the satisfaction of hearing me say that will go straight to your head.”

“Perhaps.” She leaned up and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek, feeling emboldened by her disguise and the energy that thrummed in the air around them. Alex smiled down at her.

“Will you dance with me?” Alex asked. “A festival without dancing is a festival wasted, in my opinion.”

Clem breathed out an agreement, and before she knew it, she was being tugged into the center of the square, laughter bubbling in her chest at the enthusiasm in Alex’s face. The music was too upbeat to really dance like Clem was used to, but Alex set one hand on her hip and took Clem’s hand in the other one, and it didn’t take long for them to get into the swing of things, laughing freely as the world turned around them. 

“I’m sorry that your family isn’t here,” Alex said after a while. Her voice was louder than Clem was used to— she had to yell a little to be heard over the music and the chatter— but it still made Clem feel safe, like she was wrapped up in a blanket, hidden from the rest of the world. 

Clem shrugged a little. “I’m not as upset as I thought I would be.”

“No?”

Clem shook her head. “I mean, I would love it if they were here, and I hate that my father is in the condition that he’s in, but I would give anything to blend in and feel like this again. It’s exhilarating. I’ve never felt so normal.”

Alex laughed lightly. “Please, you act like this is how it is all the time.”

“I know it’s not, but look at how happy all of these people are! This energy is unmatched. I couldn’t name a single royal ball that has felt this... warm.” Clem sighed happily. “I mean, even when I come with my family, there’s something more personal about it. From here, it feels like I’ve finally been allowed to touch the trophy thays been sitting in a glass case for twenty-five years of my life. I could always look. Never touch.” She made a point to slow her dancing a little, to signify to Alex that she wanted to stop. “And I’m glad you’re here with me. You’re the only person who’s ever made me feel like this.”

Alex’s face went pink, and Clem could feel their pulses racing as they slowly drifted back toward the sidelines. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Clem gripped at Alex’s arms, pulling her close. For warmth, she thought stupidly. They could share their warmth if they were this close. “This is the closest I’ve ever felt to being at home, except when you’re around.”

Alex smiled softly, reached under Clem’s hood to brush her hair out of her eyes. “You’re my home, too.”

“Well, then, I’m very happy that I’m marrying you.”

Alex laughed breathily, cupping Clem’s face with a chilled hand. “Oh, you have no idea.”

“I think I do.” Clem smiled and stood up in her tiptoes to kiss her before she could argue, and guessing by the way Alex’s arms looped around her waist, she didn’t have any objections. 

She had certainly gotten her distraction. Her family had become a distant thought in the back of her mind for now— not enough so that she could forget them, but enough that she felt lighter. As the sun began to dip below the snow-covered hills, and the music and laughter rang around them, bonfires being set up on street corners to chase the night’s bitter cold away for as long as they could, Clementine was only worried about the breath running from her lungs as she held her lover close to her.


End file.
